BrionGysin
Biography
Brion Gysin (1916, Taplow, England–1986, Paris, France) was a British-Canadian artist and writer known for his boundary-pushing contributions to literature, sound art, and visual experimentation. Born John Clifford Brian Gysin on January 19, 1916, in Taplow, England, to Canadian parents, he lost his father in World War I shortly after his birth. Gysin spent much of his early life in Canada before continuing his education in England at Downside School. In 1934, he moved to Paris to study at the Sorbonne and briefly became associated with the Surrealists. Although he exhibited alongside major figures like Dalí and Picasso, he was expelled from the group in 1935 by André Breton. During World War II, Gysin served in the U.S. Army and later authored a biography of Josiah Henson, published in 1946. During the 1950s, Gysin relocated to Tangier, Morocco, where he opened a restaurant called “1001 Nights.” It was there that he encountered the Master Musicians of Jajouka and helped introduce their music to international audiences. In Tangier, he also formed a lasting creative partnership with American author William S. Burroughs. Together, they developed the cut-up method—a technique involving the rearrangement of written text to generate unexpected narratives, which became a key feature of Burroughs’s later work. In 1961, Gysin collaborated with Ian Sommerville to create the Dreamachine, a flickering light device intended to be experienced with closed eyes, designed to induce altered states of consciousness through visual stimulation. Gysin’s visual art was heavily inspired by Japanese and Arabic calligraphy. He developed a personal style often referred to as “calligraffiti,” which merged written language and abstract mark-making. His multidisciplinary approach to creativity deeply influenced many artists and musicians, including David Bowie and Mick Jagger. Brion Gysin died in Paris on July 13, 1986. His legacy lives on in experimental literature, contemporary art, and the broader countercultural movement of the 20th century.
